How do you get the public excited about yet another new government policy, let alone encourage them to enthusiastically contribute to its creation?

Holland needed a new Natural Environment Policy: the existing one was 20 years old and did not reflect developments in climate, water safety, health and the environment, from loss of biodiversity to the growing part played by corporate responsibility. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs set the stiff challenge of engaging the Dutch public in the dull topic of drawing up a new policy, and making it relevant to people of all ages.

The solution was to turn a potentially dry stakeholder event into a public celebration of the Dutch countryside and natural environment. Existing plans for a small policy-forming ‘Natuurtop’ (Nature Summit) were amplified into a full ‘24 Hours of Nature’, with events by nature organisations and activities across the country, including bird spotting, beach clean-ups, vegetable planting and night walks.

The original aim was to attract around 175 stakeholders. The buzz about the summit was such that the team had to cap the number of attendants at 300 and expand the venue with a marquee. In total, the campaign inspired 336 activities across the country, with more than 10,000 participants, and 4,400 tweets using the #24uurnatuur hashtag in the two months leading up to the summit. Input from the day has contributed to the vision for a new natural environment policy, which will be launched by the Secretary of State this spring.

The online map quickly filled with activities across the Netherlands, including TV gardener Lodewijk building ‘bug hotels’ with children; families joining forest rangers on night walks to spot wild boars, foxes and owls; shepherd walks; farm open days; and bird watching.

The dashboard’s Twitter and Instagram feed showed posts from all over the country, including the Natuurtop itself, using the #24uurnatuur hashtag.

Natuurtop kicked off with speeches from the Prime Minister and State Secretary. Participants worked in groups and created output with an online decision-making tool. The PR team summed up the day in an infographic that was shared with participants.

The summit included a ‘catwalk’ of 25 inspiring citizens’ initiatives, from ‘Join in, Save the Sea’, a young man’s drive to clean up his local beach, to creating butterfly and bird-friendly reserves in industrial areas, and planting vegetables on wasteland where building has halted due to the economic crisis.

The team turned an issue and policy that no citizen really connected with, into a campaign that received far more public, media and stakeholder interest than the ministry expected:

Impact

• The aim was to attract around 175 stakeholders to the summit. Campaign buzz meant the team had to cap the number of attendants at 300 and expand the venue last-minute.

• The campaign inspired 336 activities across the country, with more than 10,000 participants.

• Input from the day has contributed to the vision for a new natural environment policy. The vision will be launched by the Secretary of State this summer and is a roadmap for the policy itself.

Output

The online dashboard showed 4,400 tweets using #24uurnatuur in the weeks leading up to the summit.

State Secretary Sharon Dijksma said: ‘Natuurtop shows nature is a joint responsibility for the government, farmers, companies, organisations and enthusiastic nature lovers’.